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Tourists may pay tolls to drive crooked San Francisco street

Cars wind their way down Lombard Street in San Francisco. Thousands of tourists could soon be forced to make reservations and pay to drive the famed crooked Lombard Street in San Francisco. California lawmakers approved a bill Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019, granting San Francisco the power to establish a toll and reservation system for Lombard Street.

Associated Press file

Tourists may pay tolls to drive crooked San Francisco street

Cars wind their way down Lombard Street in San Francisco. Thousands of tourists could soon be forced to make reservations and pay to drive the famed crooked Lombard Street in San Francisco. California lawmakers approved a bill Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019, granting San Francisco the power to establish a toll and reservation system for Lombard Street.

Associated Press file

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SAN FRANCISCO – Thousands of tourists could soon be forced to make reservations and pay to drive the famous crooked Lombard Street in San Francisco.

California lawmakers approved a bill Thursday granting San Francisco the power to establish a toll and reservation system for Lombard Street. The bill still needs Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature.

The San Francisco County Transportation Authority has recommended $5 per car weekdays and $10 weekends and holidays.

Residents say the scenic street has become more like an overcrowded amusement park than a neighborhood street.

They have been calling for years for officials to address traffic jams, trash and trespassing.

Tourism officials estimate that 6,000 people daily visit the 600-foot-long street in the summer, creating lines of cars stretching for blocks.